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UNESCO Regional Meeting on the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for Asia

6-10 December 2011

The UNESCO Regional meeting on the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for Asia will take place in the Republic of Korea from 6-10 December 2011. This will launch a preliminary review of on-going Periodic Reporting process in the Asia and the Pacific region. The meeting is to be held in the city of Suwon, famed for its inscribed ancientHwaseong walled fortress.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre is grateful for the generous contribution provided by the Government of the Republic of Korea for hosting the event, and the highly collaborative work from the Cultural Heritage Administration, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Suwon City for all their significant support.

The regional meeting will bring together all 28 Asian States Parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Periodic Reporting for Asia and the Pacific region was launched in August 2010 in Brasilia at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee. The final report will be presented to the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee in St. Petersburg in July 2012.

The meeting is a highly significant occasion for all Asian States Parties, as it will be an opportunity to enhance regional co-operation mechanisms. The exchange of views, experiences and ideas are vital for further strengthening the dialogue on the importance of World Heritage on the national, regional and international levels. The meeting will work on key regional issues such as capacity-building and sustainable development for the improved management and conservation of World Heritage properties.

The World Heritage Centre, together with the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee (ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM) and the UNESCO Field Offices in the region hope that during the four-day meeting all States Parties’ focal points on Periodic Reporting will actively review the initial outcomes of the Periodic Reporting exercise and jointly develop future regional and sub-regional Action Plans to ensure a better implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

3. Expresses its sincere appreciation to the States Parties from Asia and the Pacific for their efforts in preparing and submitting their Periodic Reports and thanks especially all focal points and site managers for their effective participation and commitment;

4. Notes with satisfaction that all the 41 States Parties of Asia and the Pacific fully participated in the Periodic Reporting exercise and all 41 questionnaires of the Section I and all 198 questionnaires of the Section II were successfully submitted;

5. Also notes with satisfaction that all the 166 draft retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value were submitted to the World Heritage Centre;

6. Thanks the authorities of Australia, China, French Polynesia, India, Republic of Korea, and Samoa for their support in organizing regional and sub-regional meetings;

7. Also notes the successful use of the electronic tool and the ensuing pertinent documentation gathered in the World Heritage Centre database for future monitoring and follow-up;

8. Welcomes with satisfaction the synthesis report of Asia and the Pacific and endorses the regional Action Plan proposed by the focal points during the Suwon meeting for Asia, and the Pacific Action Plan adjusted by the focal points during the Apia meeting for the Pacific;

9. Decides that significant modifications to boundaries and changes to criteria (renominations) requested by States Parties as a follow-up to the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise will not fall within the limit of two nominations per State Party per year imposed by Paragraph 61 of the Operational Guidelines, while they will still fall within the overall limit of forty-five complete nominations per year. This decision shall apply for the 1 February 2013 and 1 February 2014 deadlines for Asia and the Pacific, after which time the normal limit established in Paragraph 61 will be resumed;

10. Encourages the States Parties and all other World Heritage partners and stakeholders in Asia and the Pacific to actively cooperate and to take the necessary actions to follow-up in a concerted and concrete manner the implementation of the Action Plans;

11. Also encourages the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP), the UNESCO Category 2 Centre, to take a lead in developing a regional capacity-building strategy and associated programmes;

12. Further notes that the proposals contained in the Action Plans have considerable resource and workload implications for the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies and encourages States Parties to contribute to their implementation through extra-budgetary funding;

13. Also welcomes the proposals made by the Governments of China, Indonesia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran to organize sub-regional workshops on several issues identified in the Action Plan and the proposals made by the Governments of Japan and the Republic of Korea to financially contribute to the implementation of Action Plans and the follow-up of Periodic Reporting;

14. Also thanks the Government of Japan for financing the development of a publication of the outcome of Periodic Reporting of Asia and the Pacific, and requests the World Heritage Centre to widely disseminate the Periodic Report among all stakeholders in the region;

15. Requests the States Parties to continue to work closely with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to further develop and implement both at national and sub-regional levels operational programmes based on the Regional Action Plans, and also requests the World Heritage Centre to present a progress report thereon at its 37th session in 2013.